


Chaos, Love, and Heelies

by Spyrofury767



Category: Pokemon GO
Genre: Candella and Spark don't know how to handle Blanche, Cinnamon Roll Spark, Crazy Candella, Depressed!Blanche, Family, Other, Rain, Some Fluff, They hopeless, but who are we kidding, family au, i can't tag, like really, sads, what is fluff, you know me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-08
Updated: 2017-03-12
Packaged: 2018-08-07 11:51:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7713865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spyrofury767/pseuds/Spyrofury767
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Blanche turned to the coffee shop lady slowly, her bright green eyes semi-open, lazy and tired-looking. </p><p>“In my house, there are three constants.” She sighed, placing the white mocha to the side as she leaned in. “Chaos, love, and heelies.” Blanche gave a serious, semi-grim smile. “And trust me, they are constant.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Welcome to the Family.

 

Blanche Price was 6 the day she met Candella and Spark. 

 

All of their parents were Pokemon Gym Leaders. The trio had been more or less left alone since they were 8.

 

The three gyms, one of fire, one of lightning, and one of ice, had been enemies for a long time, until the heirs to their thrones became best of friends. 

 

Blanche, or, as the others called her, Blank, was a calm, intelligent girl, of few sounds but many words. Blanche was always writing or drawing or singing or reading, telling Candella and Spark her stories or teaching them what she was reading. She was the ‘mother’ of their group, keeping the other two contained and, in Candella’s case, not attacking anyone. Blanche’s calm mask hid a vengeful spirit, saddened and enraged by her early abandonment. When it came down to a Pokemon fight, even Candella backed away when Blanche went over her ‘edge’, because she was downright murderous. Her hobbies were… Unorthodox.

 

But still, she concealed her depression well.

 

Candella herself was an upbeat, fiery soul. She burned bright, determined to leave her blaze upon the world. Candella, or Candy, was adventurous and tough, taking punches as often as she dealt them out. She was the group’s little defender; you even  _ tried _ to touch Spark or Blanche, and Candella was more than ready to throw the first punch. All the same, in battle, she was deadly, either in fists or in Pokemon. Candella loved the freedom of being on her own, and didn’t regret it for a second. 

 

She was too fierce a heart to be contained. 

 

Spark was a… Different case. He wanted to know the world… Through the Internet. Spark was the tumblr-using, fandom-loving, heelie-wearing meme trash. Always the guy with the jokes, he kept the group together, like the glorious little cinnamon bun he was. While he was a little emotional at times, Spark never demanded anything, never gave notice that he needed anything, until he did. Then shit got serious if Spark needed something. Fortunately, Blanche and Candella were always there to help the spikey-haired trainer before anything got too crazy. Spark was a fairly laid-back battler, until it came time to dole out the damage. Then he destroyed. It was about the same way when he was pissed, with more damage. Blanche figured his strategy was ‘dodge, dodge, destroy’.

 

Even so, he was a little ball of joy and excitement.

 

Then their parents, and every other Pokemon Gym Leader vanished. The trio were instantly sent to be retrieved, separated, and placed up for adoption. 

 

And that is when their favorite Pokemon… each evolved.

 

All three of them owned very powerful Eevees, none of whom had evolved. 

 

Until the Child Relocation Center tried to split them up. 

 

“What?!” Candella shouted in fury as the woman at the desk pointed out where they’d go. 

 

“Y-you can’t split us up!” Spark gasped fearfully, tears in his eyes. Blanche was silent,  glaring daggers at the woman, years of restrained fury behind the cold green eyes.

 

“Yes, children, I’m sorry. It will be easier for you to find homes apart.” The woman said unsympathetically, uncaring blue eyes surveying her charges. 

 

“We’re 15. We’ll be out of the system in a year anyway.” Blanche stated, her voice cold and emotionless. 

 

“And you’re going to be split up for that year. You probably won’t see eachother again.” She looked down at the papers on her desk, nonchalant.

 

Spark’s skin color went about three tones lighter as the blood drained from his face, and he turned his head into Blanche’s chest as he began crying. 

 

“Y-you…” Candella began. The singular pokeball by her side shook slightly, the activator button sparking violently. “You.. You made SPARK CRY!” Candella’s orange eyes practically lit up with fire, burning furiously in her soul. The lady looked shocked as the pokeball shattered, Candella’s eevee, Firefly, landing on the ground in front of the furious girl, hissing like he was crazed. “NO ONE MAKES SPARK CRY!” She screamed, and Firefly’s body, along with Candella, were engulfed in a firestorm, sparks and whisps whipping around the room in a flaming tornado of legendary proportions. 

 

When it started to clear, Firefly was no longer an eevee. 

 

Firefly had always been a little on the big side, and that was shown in his evolution, as he appeared from the whirlwind of brimstone as a massive Flareon, roaring, mane and tail fluttering insanely as Candella appeared behind him, panting like she had run a marathon. Quickly, some of the guards came out, and while he fought valiantly, Firefly was overcome by sheer numbers. Candella and him were soon pinned up, the brown-haired girl fighting for every inch. 

 

Spark turned back, only to see Candella being held back like a criminal. He looked like he might burst out sobbing… When Static came out of her pokeball. 

 

The young, average-sized eevee was powerful and quick, always one step ahead. Quickly, she crept up to her master, paws on his leg. Spark knelt down and hugged the eevee. 

 

“...You can’t take what I want…” He whispered at the lady. 

 

“What was that?” She asked, ready to fight.

 

“I WANT MY FAMILY!” He shouted, and his yellow-blond hair stood on end as Static’s did as well, small bolts of energy jumping onto the walls. While the light show snapped and crackled across the walls, the lightning bolts avoided Blanche and Candella as they shielded their eyes and cowered slightly. Finally, the light suddenly vanished, except for small sparks running along the spines of Static’s back, her teeth showing as she growled, protecting her master to the end. 

 

A similar thing happened to them, the guards’ poochyenas quickly overwhelming the pair. 

 

The woman dusted off her suit… And sighed as Blanche got off the floor.

 

“Do  _ you  _ have anything to add, chi-” 

 

**_Thunk_ ** .

 

The woman froze.

 

The guards slipped their hands over Candella and Spark’s ears as their Pokemon watched in semi-horror.

 

Blanche’s right arm was extended, her fingers separated. 

 

Her pocket knife, a straight, double-edged fancy thing with a small carving of a Glaceon near the hilt, was buried an inch into the desk, directly between the lady’s fingers. 

 

No one in the room moved as Blanche’s eevee slid out of it’s pokeball, like a liquid. Frost gazed around the room. 

 

To the poochyenas, this eevee was different. Colder. Harsher. Meaner. 

 

Willing to kill. 

 

Blanche’s mask hadn’t moved, except over her eyes. Rage, like pieces of ice locked in her soul, were visible and cold. 

 

“You bring me here…” She stated calmly. “To tell me that my dad is dead.” She took a step forward, Frost at her side. “But that’s life.” She took another step. “You bring me here, to tell me that I am being sent to a foster home.” Another step, placing her hands on the desk. “And that’s ok. That’s what happens when your dad is dead.” She slowly wrapped her fingers around the handle of the knife that was imbedded in the table. “But then…” She yanked the knife free as Frost hopped up onto the desk, her ears flattened to her head as she sat down. “You tell me that you want to separate us.” She didn't move. “That we’d never see eachother again.” Frost’s fur started to tint blue, sleeking to her body. “So… You want to tell me… That you want to separate me from the one group.” Blanche’s head tilted to the side. “The one group.” She emphasized. “That I have left. The one thing keeping me bound to this place. To sanity.” She hissed low. “The one and only reason I have to keep living, the reason I get up in the morning.” Frost’s fur continued to fade to a light blue, Blanche’s mask slipping steadily into a feral snarl. “And you want to tear that apart?” 

 

The woman swallowed hard. She had never met a girl this openly mean, or troubled.

 

“Do you know how long it would take me?” Blanche whispered. “To run away? Or kill myself?” She demanded in a growl. “A week. Tops.” She murmured. “And I’d be dead. Or somewhere in the country, trying to get back to my family. The only real family I’ve ever had.” The knife flipped around in her hand as Frost’s tail flattened, her eyes reshaping slightly as a disturbingly spiked crown appeared on the eevee’s head, a pair of pointed diamonds forming near her ears, extending down. “...So unless you put us up as a set, there’s gonna be someone in this room that goes out in a body bag, and another that goes out in handcuffs.” Blanche slipped the knife into its sheath in her pocket. “Who’s gonna be who?” She hissed menacingly, the final sections of fur coloring on Frost as her eevee frill shrank back into her fur. 

 

No one moved for a very long time, Blanche and the lady locked in a battle of wills. Then the woman at the desk reached for her computer and retyped the order for the three of them.

 

They were a set. 

 

“...Let go of the others.” She said icily to the guards, who released Candella and Spark, who ran instantly for Blanche. 

 

Blanche was tall for her age, four inches more than Candella, who was just slightly taller than Spark. The pair of them pressed to her back as Blanche’s signature blank mask slipped over her face once again. 

 

They were a set.

 

*#~~~#*

 

Candella turned down the hallway and shouted loudly. “DINNER’S READY!!!” 

 

“AW YEAH!” Came the happy response from the basement. There was a loud thump, then an ‘ouch’, before the skittering of claws and loud, yippy meows as Firefly and Static ran in, followed closely by Spark. Frost trotted gracefully down the hall as Spark hopped up on one of the barstools. Their dining table was almost unused, the three preferring the barstools, where the Pokemon could join them. Candella served up two plates of lasagna, and another big bowl for the Pokemon. 

 

Just as Frost crept up to get some lasagna herself, Candella turned to her. 

 

“Hey Frosty, where’s Blank?” She asked. 

 

“Glac, eongle.” Frost replied, gesturing down the hall to their bedrooms before she nosed Firefly and Static apart to get her fill. Candella started for the hall.

 

“Aw come on Candy!” Spark called, taking a bite of lasagna. “Let Blank sleep! She was working all day.” He adjusted the headphones around his neck. 

 

All three, now 19, lived together in Blanche’s father’s old house. The biggest result of their parents being ‘dead’, was that the children inherited their minor fortunes, but were not able to take over their gyms, as you had to be at least 30. 

 

“...Fine, I guess we can let Blank sleep.” Candella relented. Despite them being relatively wealthy, all three had jobs. Sparky got a job as an electronics repair and install, Candella was a great cook, so she wound up being a chef in a family diner not far from the house. Blanche worked as a personal defense trainer, for both Pokemon and people; how to fistfight, escape a lot of the holds that were most used by attackers, how to fight off a Pokemon, or for Pokemon, how to fight without powers and abilities, how to fight off a human… The list was endless. 

 

It was a good job, and Blanche was a great trainer. 

 

Spark and Candella made small talk over their supper, ending when a rather tired looking Blanche staggered in, rubbing her eyes, her white hair frizzed and tangled. 

 

She was in a massive blue hoodie, that was easily 5 sizes larger than it should’ve been, and sweat pants, a far cry from her usual fancy blue attire, her blue and white coat discarded in an attempt of comfort. She looked like something like Spark on a Saturday morning, all sleepy and covered in too-large clothes. She collapsed on her barstool, folding her arms on the counter in front of her, and lay her head between them. 

 

“How ya doin’ Blanky?” Spark rubbed her back gently, trying to be comforting to the exhausted ‘sister’. The trio considered themselves siblings anyway. Despite his attempts, all he got in reply was a tired groan.

 

And then; “...Didn’t I tell you not to wear your heelies in the house?” Her voice was cracked and raw, tired and sleep-laced. 

 

“Oh uhh…” Spark jumped as he heard his sister tell him off. Candella snickered gently, Firefly making a coughed meow, which translated directly across their language as ‘caught’. “Y-yeah I’ll umm…” There was a pause as he quickly kicked off his heelies, the heavy shoes thumping to the floor. 

 

“...Put them away please.” Blanche mumbled. 

 

Spark grumbled as he got off his chair, picked up his shoes and stormed down the hall as Static followed at a run. Blanche didn’t move.

 

Candella brushed a streak of her brown hair behind her ear, then circled the counter and sat beside Blanche. 

 

“Hey, you feeling ok?” She carefully reached a hand over and brushed some of Blanche’s strangely white hair away from her face, the strands of it flipping over her ears. Her long ponytail lay across her back, tangled and sloppy. 

 

“...’m tired…” Blanche raised her head enough to set her chin on her arms, green eyes half lidded. Frost hopped up on the counter and nuzzled her slightly, making small, concerned purrs. “...’ut I need… Mnrfh…” Blanche finished, lowering her head back down and hiding her face. Candella knew what she wanted to do.

 

“No.” She stated, leaving no room for argument.

 

Blanche raised her head again. “Bu-” 

 

“No buts!” Candella interrupted. “You’re going to sleep! You look like you got hit by a pissy Ryhorn. You’re going back to bed!” The fiery orange eyes glared down at the rather small-looking (and feeling) ice trainer. 

 

“...will you guys clean the bathrooms then?” Blanche asked in a tiny voice. 

 

Candella heaved a sigh. “Yes, we’ll clean the damn bathrooms.” She pinched the bridge of her nose.  _ Leave it to Blank to be concerned about the bathrooms over her own health… _ “But it’s a Saturday tomorrow, and we’ll let you sleep in. You need it.” She pointed an accusing finger at Blanche, before grabbing her around her shoulders gently and lifting her off the stool, letting her stand on her own before she leaned heavily on Candella. Supporting her carefully, Candella walked Blanche down the hall into her room, Frost hot on their heels. 

 

The fire trainer lay her sister in the neatly made, blue-sheeted bed, before wrapping her in the blankets and leaving the room, trusting Frost to alert her if anything was wrong. The Glaceon curled up on the bed, pressed against her trainer’s back, watching the other leave. 

 

Candella closed the door with a small sigh. 

 

“...The bathrooms? Really?” A voice said from nowhere. Candella let out a small screech and leapt about a foot in the air. 

 

“Jesus Christ Spark!” Her hand had already been in a fist, ready to fight whatever had startled her. Firefly and Static appeared around the corner, also ready. Spark laughed softly, shaking his head as he pushed off the wall. He had been leaning against it, just behind Blanche’s door. 

 

“That was a nice scream by the way.” He gave a lazy smirk. “C’mon, are we really going to clean the ba-”

 

“Yes you asshole!” Candella burst in. Spark looked taken aback. “You saw her today, she’s… Ah! Something’s wrong! I don’t even know!” She slammed a hand into the wall. 

 

“Jeez, watch it!” Spark hissed, now making his own attempts to respect Blanche’s sleep.

 

She whipped around, her short brown hair flicking in the speed that she turned around with. “No, you watch it! She just…” Candella looked down and rubbed her upper arm. “...Spark, I’m worried about her.” 

 

Spark looked at his sister. “...Do you remember? When we were 15? And… They tried to split us up?” He asked grimly. 

 

“Of course!” Candella gasped. “Firefly evolved… There was so much fire everywhere and it was awesome… Until they caught us anyway…” She sighed. 

 

“Uh huh.” Spark confirmed with a nod. “Then Static evolved, and it was awesome. One hell of a light show.” He knelt down and picked up the Jolteon, stroking her spikey fur. Static nuzzled his face, purring loudly. 

 

“...Then Blanky threw her knife…” Candella cringed, remembering the thunk it made as it hit the desk.

 

“And they covered our ears…” Spark considered, remembering.

 

“And Blanky started talking.” Candella paced slightly. 

 

There was a long pause, before both of them said at the same time;

 

“What did she say?” 

 

They thought long and hard, looking from Blanche’s door to eachother and their Pokemon, before finally, Spark spoke up. 

 

“I’ll do upstairs.” He smiled at the fiery girl, then hugged her. “And don’t worry about Blanky. She’ll be fine.” He grinned wide, and bounced on the balls of his feet. “She always is.” Static pulled on his pant leg. Spark laughed and chased the Jolteon down the hall. 

 

Candella burst out laughing at the pair as Firefly chased them as well, before she chased the whole group down the hall. 

 

*#~~~#*

 

Blanche sat up in bed the instant that she heard Candella close the door. Frost made a low growling noise, displeased at the fact that her mistress still wasn't sleeping. She ran a hand through her hair carefully, feeling the snarls and tangles left in it. 

 

She listened closely, then turned away. When the ice trainer heard them run down the hallway, she stood up, off her bed.  _ Those two… Ugh, so perfect… They don’t even realize…  _ She rubbed her forehead, looking out the window. It may have only been early evening, but the first star of the night was visible on the horizon. She gazed at it thoughtfully, and closed her eyes. 

 

_ I wish I was a better person.  _


	2. When the Rain Falls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spark gets stuck in the rain.

It took them all of a week to get back to normal. Blanche had come out of it fine, all calm smiles and mom again…

 

And no one blew anything up trying to clean the bathrooms! Win win!

 

As it stood, Candella was on the couch playing Mario Kart while Blanche cooked supper. 

 

“Jeez, Frost, please! Stop fucking with the other controller!” Candella shoved the Glaceon away from the box of Wii controllers with her foot. Firefly took that as an invitation, and he pounced on Frost. They tussled like a pair of puppies before darting down the hall in fading scratches of claws on hardwood. 

 

“Oh, don’t be so hard on her.” Blanche smiled lightly as she walked over and sat beside the other. “She’s just playing.” 

 

“Yeah well she could stop interrupting my damn race…” Candella growled, focused. 

 

Blanche picked The Fault In Our Stars off the side table and opened it to a specified page. About ten minutes into their comfortable silence, thunder boomed outside. 

 

Blanche jumped about a foot in the air while Candella didn’t move. Both the Pokemon came sprinting back down the hallway, fur fluffed up and eyes wide, quickly leaping onto the couch and cuddling to their trainers. 

 

Candella pressed pause on her game and turned to look outside, where the small pattering of raindrops had turned into a downpour. 

 

Blanche picked up Frost with slightly shaking hands, walking over to the window as she stroked the Glaceon’s fur down. 

 

“...Wait a second…” Blanche remembered. “Candy?” She asked slowly.

 

“Yeah?” Candella replied, stroking down Firefly’s fur as well. 

 

“Where’s Spark?” 

 

*#~~~#*

 

Spark rubbed his hands on the upper arms of his thin jacket, trying to work feeling back into his fingers. He could feel Static frantically rattling her ball at his hip, desperate to get out and help her trainer, but the lock was too strong for her and Spark was too cold to unlock her pokeball. 

 

His teeth chattered slightly, the rain already soaking him to the core. He felt frozen, and his heelies squelched when he stepped. 

 

The downpour was sudden, from a drippy faucet to a broken dam. 

 

And Spark was woefully unprepared. 

 

It was actually rather dark out, the rain clouds blocking out the last of the Sun’s fading rays. Spark pulled his shoulders up, reaching back and putting his hoodie over his head, folding his arms and running. Sneakers to pavement over and over, in a constant, hypnotic series, as Spark ran in the direction he thought was home. 

 

Then he misstepped and skidded, his heelies working against him on the wet pavement as he crashed to the concrete, scraping his left side across the ground. 

 

He lay, dazed, until burst of light exploded overhead, along with a roar of thunder. Quickly, Spark stumbled to his feet and ran, wishing he could find some form of cover that wasn’t a tree. His left shoulder hurt like Hell, and he swore he could feel some kind of warm liquid on his cheek. After a second, he stopped running and touched his fingers to his face, then instantly withdrew with a hiss.  _ Of all the days not to wear my gloves… _ He looked at his hand, and cringed to see that his fingers had quite a bit of blood on them. 

 

He pulled his hood up farther, and kept running. It was about thirty seconds before he hit the pavement again, skidding for father this time. He let out a pained shout as he landed on the ground, his left shoulder once again taking the majority of it. This time he scrambled for the side of the road, heaving. The rain showed no signs of stopping, and, as he looked around fearfully, he realized he had no idea where he was.

 

Then, he felt something itch. He had about three seconds before he sneezed, making a face which would’ve been adorable if he wasn’t freezing. “Het-chu!” 

 

_ I-I’m lost! _ He wanted to cry. Admitted, that Spark always had been a bit emotional, but now might actually merit it. His face hurt, his arm hurt, he couldn’t feel his fingers and running in heelies or taking out the wheels were out of the question. With shaking hands he reached down to his side and slowly picked up the pokeball there. He pressed the button with his whole hand because he was shaking too badly, and the instant she was free, Static nuzzled him, whimpering concernedly. She tried to lap up the blood on his face, cleaning the cut, but it was deep. 

 

Spark’s breathing was light and shallow, his face flushed. Static growled at him, nosing his face, wanting him to move. “Jolt! Jolteon! Eon!” She demanded, knowing that if he spent too long here, he wouldn’t be safe. Quickly, she jumped off his lap, grabbing his sleeve, and tugging, hard. Water ran off her spikey fur, so dense it was almost waterproof. 

 

“Hm, wha-” Spark gasped, standing up as Static tugged his sleeve again. “S-S-S-Static?” He asked as she pulled him along, as fast as she dared. She knew where home was.

 

And they were far away.

 

*#~~~#*

 

“HIS FUCKING PHONE IS DEAD!” 

 

Candella ranted as she paced around the kitchen. 

 

“Shut up, I’m calling him again!” Blanche demanded as she dialed his cell again, whispering ‘c’mon’ under her breath as it rang. “...It’s dead.” She gasped quietly. 

 

Firefly and Frost were practically demanding to be let out. They could find him, and they knew it. Firefly would be fine for a while, because of his thick, hot fur, and Frost was a Glaceon. She’d take cold. 

 

Candella pounded her fists against the table. “He HAD to go get those damn batteries tonight didn’t he!? Mother frrrr….” Her orange eyes burned in anger and worry, sweeping a glass off the table. It hit the ground and splashed water all over her feet. “Fuck!” She blurted out, and grabbed a towel. 

 

“Language!” Blanche demanded, pinching between her eyebrows. “Of all the damn days…”

 

Candella threw the cup into the sink, then let out a growl that matched her Pokemon’s. “He didn’t take his warm jacket.”

 

Blanche walked over to the front door, and looked at Firefly and Frost, who were dutifully sitting by the door, waiting. 

 

“...You two find him, and bring him home, alright?” She demanded. Both Pokemon nodded calmly, and Blanche opened the door. 

 

*#~~~#*

 

The two Pokemon raced along the rain-covered street, quick paws making short, swift work of the distance. They had turned to cross a street when Firefly felt something wrong. 

 

“Flare! Flareon.” (Frost! Wait.) He called out to the other eeveelution, pulling up short. The determined Glaceon didn’t hear his call.

 

She also didn't hear the car that swiped her. 

 

“FLARE!” (FROST!) Firefly shrieked, racing across the wet road to the crumpled blue form. He nosed her unconscious body. “Flareon flare flare flare…” (Please be ok, please please please…) He mewled, licking her face. Finally, her face scrunched up a little in awakening.

 

“Gla…” (Wha…) She hissed, blue eyes bright in pain. 

 

“Flare! Flareon eon… Flare eon flare flareon…” (Frost! Please, don’t move… Please, we need to get help…) He growled, looking frantically through the haze of rain that covered his ability to see anything at all. 

 

“Gl-glaceon… E-eon gla...” (Pl-please… D-don’t go…) She growled, pained. 

 

Firefly blinked in surprise, then carefully stepped overtop of her. “...Flare. Eon.” (I’m not going anywhere.)

 

She turned her face up to the other. “Gl-glaceon… Glace…” (W-what about… Spark…) She whispered. 

 

Firefly nuzzled her, and looked around the misty, near-impenetrable wall around them. “Flare flare…” (I don’t...) He growled. “Flare flareon fla-” (We’ll need to get you to sa-) He froze as a pair of yellow eyes glowed through the rain, followed closely by a pair of deep purple with white slits. Slowly, the eyes aproached, until bodies became visible through the rain. Even though Firefly was a larger than average Flareon, the shiny Umbreon that approached them was huge to him.

 

It was the size of a lion.

 

And Umbreon were supposed to be slightly smaller than Flareon. 

 

Firefly gulped, and started a low growl in his throat, when a kitten-sized, bright green Espeon crept out from behind him. It’s orange gem glowed softly, comfortingly. 

 

_ You are looking for someone, no? _ A voice echoed in their heads. The Umbreon stared at them coldly, gender unidentifiable. 

 

“F-f-flare… E-eon…flare…” (Y-y-yes… Ou-our t-trainer’s friend…) Firefly whimpered, eyes on the massive Umbreon’s piercing topaz eyes. 

 

_...You’ll need help.  _ The Espeon stepped forward, placing one paw gently on Frost’s side. The orange gem on his head shone like a spotlight as his eyes shut. Slowly, Frost’s wounds melted away. 

 

Mostly. 

 

The Glaceon got stiffly to her feet, then her ears flipped back as she looked up at the huge Umbreon. It gazed down at her, the teal blue circles on it’s ears and face glowing softly. 

 

_ Go home. _ The voice was powerful, neither male nor female, some undecided gender inbetween, forceful yet calming. It sounded almost like an order from a trainer.  _ We’ll find your friends. _

 

Slowly, Firefly nodded, turned, and slowly lead Frost off. Frost stopped abruptly, turned around and stared at the Umbreon. 

 

“Glaceo gla glace. Glace.” (You bring him home. Safe.) She growled. 

 

_...We will.  _ The Umbreon stated over his shoulder. As the two gym Pokemon walked away, the Umbreon turned to the minuscule Espeon.  _ C’mon Eon… We have a pair of idiots to find. _

 

_ You didn't have to be mean, Sapphire.  _ The Espeon scolded.  _ Really, they are nice Pokemon. _

 

_ Whatever. _ Sapphire started a small trot.  _ I’m just glad I heard the brakes squeal. _

 

*#~~~#*

 

Static shivered badly, shaky paws still trying to wobble along, pulling her exhausted trainer behind her. 

 

Spark hadn’t said a word for an hour, resigned to being pulled by his Pokemon. 

 

The only sound was the patter of rain and the chattering of his own teeth.

 

And then they appeared. 

 

A shiny Espeon and a shiny Umbreon. The Espeon was tiny, so small, like a kitten. She would’ve been diminutive as an Eevee. 

 

The Umbreon was the size of a lion, nothing but muscle and power. 

 

The pair approached Spark and Static slowly, carefully. Without a single word, the Espeon went to Static and gently took her weight, supporting her and keeping her upright, until he lowered the other to the ground and grabbed Static’s pokeball off the belt on Spark’s side, putting her back into it. 

 

The Umbreon went over to Spark and let him lean on her side. 

 

Then the pair lead him home. 

 

*#~~~#*

 

It was just under an hour before Sapphire and Eon managed to get Spark home. Quickly, Sapphire set Spark on the doorstep, while Eon placed Static’s pokeball in his lap. Then, Sapphire reached up and touched his nose against the doorbell. 

 

The instant that the bell rang, both of the shinies were enveloped in a cloud of black, obviously from Sapphire, and they vanished. 

 

Inside, Candella shot for the door and wrenched it open before the bell had even stopped ringing.

 

“SPARKY!” She shrieked, kneeling down and tightly hugging the very cold, very wet Spark who was resting on the doorstep. He weakly hugged her back.

 

“H-h-hey C-C-Candy…” He murmured, keeping one hand on Static’s pokeball. 

 

“Oh thank fuck you’re ok!” She hissed, and whipped around. “BLANKY! SPARK’S HOME!” She shouted. 

 

Blanche ran down the hall, her long blue coat flapping behind her. “Oh my God, Spark!” She gasped, grabbing both of them by their shoulders, yanking them inside then clutching to them like if she let go, she might lose them. 

 

Static’s pokeball dropped out of Spark’s frozen fingers, landing on the floor and letting a very cold, very wet Static out onto the floor. She let out a whimpery mew, which was instantly replied to by a pair of happy yips. 

 

Firefly sprinted down the hall, instantly curling around the frozen Jolteon and heating his fur, warming her. Static relaxed with a sigh, leaning into the other. Frost followed at a limp, her left back leg held off the ground, wrapped tightly in a white bandage. Static nuzzled deeply into Firefly’s fur, giving a small sneeze, before she caught sight of Frost sitting by the sidelines. She froze, and made a questioning whimper in the back of her throat. Frost met her eyes… Then she looked away. Static mewled, and nuzzled back into Firefly, who gave her an apologetic lick. 

 

Meanwhile, Candella had run to get a towel, quickly wrapping Spark in it and rubbing him dry gently. Spark’s shivers had slowed a little, but not much. His eyes were closed, leaning into his sister, trying not to fall asleep and failing. Blanche noticed. 

 

“Candy, go get some fuzzy pajamas.” Blanche demanded, holding Spark upright by his shoulders, hugging him to her chest. 

 

“B-B-Blanky?” He said quietly, almost a whisper. Blanche looked down at him. “...Y-you w-were r-r-right…” He mumbled, pressing into her gently. 

 

“Shh shhh… It’s ok Sparky…” Blanche ran a hand through his damp hair. “It’s ok… Next time you take the car…” 

 

“...I h-hit my sh-shoulder…” He whispered. 

 

“Ok Sparky, we’ll take a look at it, ok?” She looked over his face, and saw the cut. “Candy! Bring the first aid kit too, please!” She shouted down the hallway.

 

“On it!” Came the reply.

 

It didn’t take that long to get Spark wrapped in and ungodly amount of blankets and fuzzy items on the couch with a cup of hot chocolate while Blanche cleaned up his face. She put on three butterfly stitches after a questionable amount of polysporin, and let him sit a while before she would check his shoulder. 

 

He looked pretty out of it still, and he was still sneezing (Candella thought it was adorable), but he could form comprehensive sentences. What made Blanche most worried, though, was that he wouldn’t lift his left elbow over his shoulder, or move it much in any direction other than forward.

 

Candella, on the other hand, was busy tending to Static. The waterproof advantage with a Jolteon’s hard, dense fur was also it’s greatest disadvantage; Once water got in, it was very hard to get it out. 

 

She pressed a massive wad of paper towels onto Static’s neck, trying to wring her out. Firefly still sat beside the electric Pokemon, keeping her warm. 

 

Frost sat up on their climbing tree, looking at the rain outside, her left foot held in a strange position to make the minor fracture more comfortable. 

 

Finally, Blanche pressed pause on Naruto (one of Spark’s more well known guilty pleasures.) and turned to her younger brother. “Ok, let’s see the shoulder.” She stated, getting straight to the point. 

 

Spark shrugged the blankets off his left shoulder and twisted slightly so she could look at it. She pulled down the shoulder of his shirt and took a sharp breath in between her teeth, jerking back a little. “...It’s bad, isn’t it?” Spark asked, looking away.

 

Blanche didn’t even know if that cut it. His shoulder was a huge, swelled mess, covered in blotches of purple and blue, molted and extending all over his upper arm. Most of his bicep was scraped, and at least three huge scratches extended down the side of his arm. She gently lay a hand on it, fearing that it was broken. Spark hissed in pain, and she withdrew. 

 

“You dislocated it.” She shook her head sadly. 

 

Spark laughed slightly. “Well that’s ok… That’s an easy fix, isn't it?” His laughter started to sound a lot nervous. Candella looked over with a grim expression.

 

“It’s pretty easy, but it isn't going to be fun. This is going to hurt like hell, ok?” Blanche said, slowly grabbing onto his shoulder. He gulped. “Just… Try not to move, ok?” She smiled as best she could. Spark looked away, and nodded. “I’m going to count to three, alright?” She stood up, preparing to do something that she, actually, had never done before. “One…” She closed her eyes, and apologized to him internally. “Two!” She barked, and twisted his arm, pressing down, locking it back into the joint with a loud pop. 

 

Spark screamed in pain, almost drowning out the pop. The instant his arm was back in place, Blanche dropped his hand. “The hell Blanky?! You said three!” He snapped,  drawing his hand to his chest and rubbing his shoulder gently, avoiding the swelling and bruises. 

 

“If I told you I was going early, you would’ve tensed up. It would’ve hurt far more if you tensed up.” She shrugged, and went about treating the scrapes and scratches, then she pulled out a stretchy wrap, quickly tying up his shoulder. “Don’t twist or roll it too much.” 

 

He moved it out and in a few times. “Thanks Blanky. It feels much better!” He smiled at her, then he shook his head, letting his hair fluff out again. Blanche constantly used to try to brush it down, but it was almost like his hair actively rebelled against the notion of lying flat.

 

Blanche sighed, and handed him the remote, before semi-laying on her section of the couch, watching the TV with half her face buried in one of the pillows. Spark shrugged and pressed play, letting Naruto’s epic music fill the room. 

 

Candella squished herself in between them, shoving at Blanche’s feet. “Move over fata-” She began, until she noticed that Blanche was asleep. Then she moved them aside very carefully, before sitting down. Spark looked at her confusedly. 

 

“She fell asleep.” Candella shrugged. 

 

“She hasn’t been sleeping much lately has sh- atc-ew!” Spark sneezed loudly, before rubbing his nose and sighing. “Has she?” He finished. 

 

“I think she gets nightmares or something.” Candella rubbed Blanche’s shoulder, prompting the longer girl to cuddle a little deeper into the pillows. 

 

Spark yawned. “Well, we’ll be here if she needs it.” He smiled tiredly. 

 

“Yeah… So what happened, how did you get back?” Candella asked. 

 

“Well…” He rubbed the back of his head. “It's actually a little weird… But I was rescued by a shiny Umbreon and shiny Espeon. The Umbreon was huge! It was like… A… A lion! It was massive!” He made a gesture with his hand. “And the Espeon was like an Eevee! It was so tiny… But they saved me, and brought me home.” He rubbed his shoulder again. Candella looked at him in disbelief. “Yeah, I know, it’s stupid, but it rea-”

 

“No no no it’s not! Frost and Firefly were sent out to get you but Frost got hit by a car… And they told us those two saved them too!” 

 

“What?!” Spark gasped. 

 

“Yeah! The Espeon healed Frost to a degree… He saved her life…” Candella shook her head in amazement.

 

“...Wow… It really is a small world.” Spark said, then got a mischievous grin. He hummed a few lines of ‘It’s a Small World’ and Candella groaned loudly. 

 

“Really? I'm going to have that stuck in my head all night now…” She said, and yawned. Then Spark did as well. “...I think it’s time to get some sleep.”

 

Candella swiped the remote from his hand as he snuggled into the blankets. She pressed pause, and snagged another pair of blankets from a chair, throwing one over Blanche and wrapping herself in the other. “Night night, Sparky…” She murmured. 

 

“Night Candy.” He replied, and the three curled together, at least, until their Pokemon hopped up onto the couch with them, cuddling in a doggy pile in the corner, all except for Frost, who had to carefully climb and lay on the top of the couch so she wouldn't hurt her leg more.

 


	3. End of the Night/ In the Future, Legendaries Enjoy Bad T-Shirts?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> READ TGE FCKING TITLE

Blanche’s face twitched in her sleep, her making an annoyed groan. She shifted slightly on the couch, fingers sinking into the pillow in a tight fist.

Her breathing quickened, unsteady, and she whimpered.

That was enough to wake Spark. His blue eyes flicked open as he sat up slightly, looking overtop of the Pokemon and Candella over to where Blanche shifted around fitfully.

Slowly, he reached a hand over to Candella’s shoulder, feeling the minor twinge in his left one that reminded him of his adventure earlier. Carefully, he shook Candella.

“Candy!” He whispered. “Wake up!” Finally she blinked awake, orange eyes flickering.

“Huh whu-” She began.

“Shhh! Keep it down, Blanky’s asleep!” Spark made a pressing down gesture with his hands, voice a low hiss.

“Then why did you wake me up?” Candella glared at him.

“Because she’s having a nightmare!” He pointed at the bleached-blond girl behind her, statement so painfully obvious that Candella wanted to compliment him on noticing, but she wasn't sure if she should use sarcasm or not.

Blanche’s breath hitched, and she made a small, pathetic whine. Candella decided not sarcastic. “Thank God for you, you lovable idiot…” She slid off her section of the couch and crept over to Blanche’s face. She looked like she was terrified, and in honest pain.

Spark came up behind Candella. “What do we do?” He whispered.

Blanche made a low groan and buried her face in the pillow.

“I don’t know I’ve never seen her having a nightmare before I’ve only guessed that she has ha-”

Suddenly, Blanche made a soft shout, almost like she tried to scream but couldn’t, and squirmed. Candella jumped a little, and looked frantically at Spark. He shrugged, lost.

And then Blanche shot upward with a small shriek, struggling in the blanket, tangling herself.

“Blanche, BLANCHE!” Candella shouted, grabbing Blanche’s arms and pressing them to her sides. The ice trainer struggled for several more minutes while both Spark and Candella called her name over and over.

Then she stopped, breathing hard and staring at them with wide, startled eyes.

The three all stopped, staring uneasily. Slowly, Candella removed her fingers from Blanche’s arms and took three steps back. Blanche’s lips narrowed into a thin line as she rubbed her one arm and looked away.

“...S-sorry…” She whispered quietly, and stood up to walk away.

Something grabbed her right wrist. Hard. Blanche, already stressed and terrified that they had seen her, whipped around, drawing her left hand back into a fist before smashing it into the offender’s face.

She had fully expected it to be Candella, although, reconsidering, Candella would’ve yelled first. And wouldn’t’ve got up from that punch.

When Spark staggered backward, Blanche couldn’t help her shock. First off, that was Spark that grabbed her?! When had he gotten that strong? Second, she had just punched her baby brother! Her baby brother!

Blanche and Candella had a few fistfights over the years, but if Blanche threw the first punch, then Candella was almost instantly out of the fight. It was a knockout punch.

Spark, however, staggered backward, shook his head and wiped a hand under his lip. Then he ran for Blanche, and threw his own hit, a vicious uppercut to the stomach.

Blanche almost collapsed, all the air blown out of her lungs, but she remembered her training in time and took a few quick breaths, stabilizing herself.

Candella stumbled away, jaw open as Blanche actually leapt for Spark, the pair falling over backward and breaking the cheap coffee table with a loud crack. They rolled around on the floor, throwing fists and painful blows at wherever they could reach. This was no play fight, this was an actual, serious fight, and poor Candella couldn’t think of anything to do but stand there and stare. Do I break this up or… Ok how do I break this up?! She thought as she took another few steps away from the warring siblings. When she and Blanche fought, it took one word from Spark to stop it.

Spark, though, was fighting, and was doing much better than Candella ever had in any fight with Blanche. As this became clear, the fire trainer took a step around them. Do I start cheering or break this up?

Finally, Blanche kicked off Spark, who rushed forward and landed a brutal roundhouse on Blanche’s chin. Her head snapped to the side and she collapsed to her knees, gripping the arm of the couch in an attempt to keep upright, gasping painfully.

Spark, however, stood over her, breathing hard, the cut on his cheek reopened and a new one on his lip, probably from Blanche’s ring.

“Blanche, what the fuck is your problem?!” He shouted, waving one arm wildly. “You don’t eat much, never come out of your room, and you don’t talk to us!!” Spark was ranting now, and he was on a roll. “Your Pokemon doesn’t even know what’s wrong!!! So, what the fuck is your damn problem?!!”

Candella was taken aback by Spark’s fierceness. He had always been pretty happy-go-lucky, and this was a side of him she had never seen before. The side that let him, tired and just warmed up with an injured shoulder, beat the shit out of his taller, stronger, meaner sister.

Plus, it wasn’t often you heard Spark use the f-bomb twice in an hour.

Blanche’s green eyes flicked up to him, her pants heavy and harsh. Then she started laughing. It was slow, careful at first, until it was like she had heard the funniest joke in the world. Then, it became giggled hiccups, until finally she sat, sidesaddle, on the floor, tearful sobs racking her thin chest, still gripping to the couch.

Spark didn’t move, although normally if either of his sisters was crying he’d be on the ground in a second, hugging them tightly. Instead, his mouth tightened and he just stood there, staring at her.

“I-I-I n-n-ever k-knew…” Blanche whispered between sobs. “T-t-t-hat y-y-ou we-were th-that st-t-rong…”

Candella watched from the sidelines, not trusting her mouth to say something helpful.

“Peeling you and Candella apart taught me a few things. I went to a boxing class.” Spark stated coldly. Icy anger filled his voice, spat out in every word.

“Y-y-you kn-knew it-t wou-would en-end in a f-f-fight… D-d-idn’t y-y-ou…” She hissed, emerald eyes filled with pain and fear and self hate.

“You and Candella battling wouldn’t’ve solved jack shit. Now, you’re going to tell us what the fuck is wrong and why you’re so damn combative!” Now Spark knelt down and hugged her tightly. “Serious, we’re worried about you. I’m worried that you’re going to do something really bad. And… I don’t want to lose you, Blanche. I can’t lose you.” He gently stroked her head as she leaned into him, hugging him back and burying her face into his shoulder. Candella came over slowly, stepping over the wreckage of the coffee table and kneeling beside her siblings.

“I-I-I…” She started, trying to breath, before breaking down again.

Candella sat beside them, patting Blanche’s back gently and brushing her bleached-white hair away from her face.

It took a while, but Blanche finally took in one last, shuddering breath and fell silent.

“...It started a while ago.” She murmured. “When I was nine, or ten. I thought… I felt like I had been abandoned. My dad was never home, and when I was alone in the mornings I kept thinking about… Why I should even get up.” Her voice was small, broken.

Spark and Candella looked at eachother worriedly, before turning back to Blanche.

“I wondered if… I were to die, who would care. Then I understood.” She looked away.

“You would.”

“You’re the ones that would… Miss me.”

“And that’s why I kept getting up. Each and every day. Until they tried to sp-spilt us up an-an-an-” She broke down again. Candella leaned in and all three shared a group hug. Her and Spark, however, shared a pointed, unreadable look.

They had heard enough.

*#~~~#*

Almost 5 years later, and the trio was so much more than just a family.

They didn’t live together anymore, and that was alright. Spark and Static needed more space to raise eggs in, Candella and Firefly needed a training room, and Blanche and Frost needed a better place to do research.

Spark was leader of team Instinct.

Candella, Valor.

And Blanche led Mystic.

Prof. Willow was a Pokemon professor they met, tasked with gathering teams of trainers under banners.

And now they were tasked with meeting one of the greatest trainers on earth.

Spark was pumped.

“Oh my God! I can’t believe we get to meet a LEGENDARY HUNTER!!” He ran on the spot, shaking with excitement.

“Calm down, Spark, seriously.” Blanche gave the breeder a gentle smile. Since their talk years ago, she had actually been a lot better with her depression and talking, even discussing how she felt more with Spark and Candella.

“He has to be excited we’re going to a legeNDARY TRAINER’S HOUSE!!” Candella did a small dance on the sidewalk, overjoyed.

“Oh my gosh, you two are so childish…” Blanche rolled her eyes, keeping a good, quick pace. As it turned out, LH houses are actually pretty plain. Some of the powerful trainers with the gift and skill to tame a legendary Pokemon refused to join a team. They were just too powerful, had too many Pokemon to give a damn.

They were truly the most powerful trainers on earth.

The one they were going to meet, in preparation for more advanced training, was a very dangerous one named Raven Kialla. She didn’t just capture legendaries for bragging rights.

She captured them for battle.

Blanche walked up to her door while Candella and Spark composed themselves, and knocked on the door.

They had been expecting a grand many things, from self opening doors to a butler to a fancy lady in a dress greeting them, but what they did not expect was a Mewtwo, fur rucked up and messy, in a t-shirt that was huge, hanging off him like a bag.

The shirt was blood red, with a picture of the ‘Y U no’ guy pointing to his rather pronounced buttocks, a fat pink kiss on his one butt cheek. The caption, written in bold white, was ‘Y U NO kiss my bare ass?’.

He was also holding a coffee mug in his one hand, squinting at them tiredly. Blanche noted that the black mug said, in cold, bright letters, ‘Sin Fuel’, right on the side.

His tail was dropped onto the floor, directing all looks to his feet. He was wearing fuzzy pikachu slippers.

<Oh, er…> He said telepathically. His voice was crisp, clear, a little sleepy, but he was obviously used to talking psychically. <...RAVEN!> He turned around, cupping his hand around his mouth like he was actually talking. <Your guests are here!> He called, and made a motion with his hand to come in as he walked further down the hall.

The dumbfounded trio managed to walk in and take off their shoes, but after that it became clear; This was no formal house.

All the Pokemon turned to stare at the newcomers like they were invaders, but only because it was explicitly clear that these Pokemon didn’t enjoy leaving the house much.

The tall Mewtwo walked back over to them, taking a long sip of his coffee before he scrutinized them carefully. <Raven’s outside training Wave with Helen, but she’ll be able to talk to you soon. Give it, ten, fifteen minutes? It won’t be long, trust me.> He shrugged, and sighed. <So I guess you’re the team leaders, Blanche, Candella and Spark, am I right?> He looked them up and down as they gaped at him.

“Oh er… Yes!” Blanche stammered. “Y-yes we… We are!” She jerked under his blue-eyed stare. “S-sorry, I’m not used to telepathy so early…” She sighed.

<Hey, it’s ok. A lot of people are freaked out by me.> He nodded his head to the side like this was a regular thing. <Not used to the legendary talking straight out of the gate.>

“But why?!” Candella jumped forward, making the mewtwo jump back.

<Jesus Christ!> He jolted out reflexively.

“Why do you talk right out? And not just to specific people to everyone?!” Her brown hair flickered around her face with her rapid, jerky movements.

<Umm… Well… I used to do that, but then Raven taught me to talk like a normal person in hopes that I could learn to interact right with other people… So… Yeah.> He shrugged. <Name’s Destiny, by the way. Nice to meet you.> He smiled, letting his ears flip backward. <You can go into the backyard if you want to watch Raven training, or you can go talk to the other Pokemon in the main room.> He gestured to the living room, where a lot of Pokemon were curled on bean bags or couches and chatting. With one final wave, Destiny turned around and walked back to the kitchen.

Blanche shrugged, and turned to her friends. “I'm going to the backyard.” She immediately started for the back door.

“Wait up!” Candella called after her, and followed out the door.

Spark looked into the living room, where every single Pokemon was staring at him. Slowly, he walked in. “Err… Hi…” He began. Someone paused the TV, the shiny Mew (!!!) at the computer pressed escape on his keyboard and paused his game (Was he playing CALL OF DUTY?!) and every Pokemon simultaneously focused on Spark.

It was an Articuno with strangely light colored feathers that spoke up first. <You like Antman?> She raised a curious, slightly accusing eye-feather that was a startlingly sky-blue against the almost white of the rest of her feathers.

“Hells yeah!” Spark said, a little too excitedly. The Articuno smirked.

<Well then, you can join us. Tres, scooch your fat ass over I swear to god, give the kid some space!> She demanded to a young, oddly masculine looking Moltres on the other side of the couch.

<Well sorry, but I was here first!> The Moltres had a very musical, feminine voice, confusing Spark completely as to its gender.

<And you’re taking up half the damn couch. Scooch.> The Articuno gave it’s fire alternate a pointed glare before the Moltres grudgingly pulled it’s legs in. Spark sat down between them. <Since we’re here anyway, I'll introduce you. The Mew over there shooting shit is just Mew,>

<Sup.> Mew interrupted, taking his paw off the mouse for less than a second to wave over his shoulder, never looking away from his screen, where a questionable amount of zombies were being repeatedly mown down under heavy artillery fire.

<The Zapdos is Zap, the Palka is Universe, or just Verse.> She pointed to each of them with a wing, the two she mentioned waving as she pointed to them. <the Raiku is Thunder, the Entai is Volco, the Suicune is River, the Yveltal is Chaos. My name is Cuno.> She made a dull thrumming purr in the back of her throat, almost like a songbird preparing to sing.

<I’m Tres.> The Moltres twittered out softly, a little shy now that Spark was near her.

Everything settled into a comfortable conversation, well below the movie level, which went very well, until Mew threw in his two cents about the other Pokemon.

<Yeah, sorry about Tres. They can be kinda moody.> He joked, his tail waving behind him.

<Hey! I resent that!> The Moltres threw over their (?!) shoulder with a laugh.

“Wait a second…” Spark shook his head. “‘They’?” He asked slowly, honestly confused.

Tres let out a small breath. <...I’m trans. They-them pronouns, please.> The firebird looked at him, judging Spark on every reaction to that information. In the background, gunfire had begun again from the computer and the movie was playing again.

Spark blinked in shock at the last statement. He knew some trans people, hell, several were in team Instinct, but a Pokemon that was trans? Unheard of.

“Y-you’re trans?!” He gasped, looking at the legendary bird in a new light, considering their trainer with a new brush. “But does your trainer actually allow that or…” He tilted his head to the side. “Is that just a thing you are doing in rebellion? I mean, don’t you like it here? You’re a fire type, aren't you a good fighter?”

Silence. The movie paused again, the gunfire stopped dead.

It was like someone had flipped the awkwardness switch to full blast.

I fucked up… Thought Spark. He pushed that way too far.

<...First off…> Tres began with a low sigh, green eyes a cold mask to an obviously insulted core. <She allows it very well, thank you. She’s not our master, she’s our friend.> Her tone was only slightly more offended than before, but her bearing was understanding and kind. <And when one Pokemon calls another a good fighter, it's ok, but when a trainer calls a Pokemon a good fighter…>

Suddenly, Spark understood what they were getting at. “Oh, yeah, shit… I’m uhh, really sorry, I’m just another idiotic trainer stereotyping you.” He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand, trying to dispel the sinking feeling in his chest.

<It’s alright, it happens often.> The Moltres shrugged, and turned back to the movie, which someone now turned on.

Spark sighed, thanking God that didn’t go over as poorly as he imagined. Still, it was a little bit of a change of pace to what he was used to seeing.

Just… A little weird.

*#~~~#*

When Blanche and Candella walked out of the house, they were immediately buffeted by a wave of wind and a low roar. A commanding voice rose above the howl of spinning wind and whipping wings, although neither girl could make out the words.

Gravel and a few shed feathers rained down on them, coating the area in dust as the low, dull scrape of claws through gravel sounded angrily as a Lugia the size of a small house slid backward, making Blanche jump slightly, squinting through the dust at his massive feet.

Lugia don’t get their claws until they hit level 90! What level is that one to have claws that size?! She gasped as she saw his pure, shiny, pearl-white talons, slightly bigger than half as long as her forearm. His wings were crossed in front of his face, defending the Ho-oh, a few feet shorter and smaller than he was, from attacking his face. The second that his claws had gotten a good enough hold on the gravel, he threw his weight forward, shoving the Ho-oh back and throwing his huge wings open, spreading them to the sides evenly and then sweeping them forward quickly, washing the area in a spread of sand and dust as he lifted his body cleanly off the ground, his tail sweeping like an enraged snake around his feet, spraying the area with excess gravel. The Ho-oh launched into the air, a lot more gracefully than his psychic counterpart, wings barely having to sweep forward to draw his far more flight-based form into the sky, level with his opponent.

Candella looked up in shock. “Now this! This is a fight!” She shouted over the blazing wind, filled with heat and cold as the two swirled around each other, clawing with brutal speed, claws connecting with metallic clangs that sounded like swords crossing, sparks flying from their talons clicking together with each slash, black against white, four on three.

Then one of the girls, a redhead with her fringe and the tips of her messy, wavy ponytail were dyed a cool, icy black. Immediately, she made a gesture with her hand and screamed at the warring Pokemon, her partner beside her doing the same thing, her short, deep red-purple hair falling in sleek, even strips around her face.

Immediately, the two fliers, both heavy hitters, swooped away from each other and landed safely on the opposite sides of the arena. They seemed breathless, almost.

<Ha HA!> Crowed the Ho-oh. <You’re lucky Helen stopped me, or you’d be road-paste!> He beat his wings triumphantly.

<You’re lucky I didn’t get to reverse you! You keep forgetting that you’re a level 91, not a 100, Fire.> The Lugia purred coolly, letting his claws slide back into his paws with a slow grinding slide noise.

Even his wings have claws, Blanche realized. He has to be a level 100…

The Lugia fluffed up the thick, heavy flight feathers on his shoulders and smoothed them back down before folding his wings.

“Good work you two. You have very good, swift skills. Take a break, it seems like our guests are here.” She waved to them, walking over to the other trainers. Her black hoodie waved in the remaining wind. “Hello. I’m Raven. I assume you are Blanche and Candella.” Her voice was calm and contained, controlled, like if she talked too loudly or moved too fast she would break something… Or someone.

“Hello!” Candella greeted. “You have the right pair here! Spark’s inside, talking to your Pokemon. That was… One hell of a fight right there! Do you guys do that often?”

“Today was special. No powers allowed, only physical combat. Shakes up the game a little.” Raven smirked.

Blanche had the strangest feeling that she was going to enjoy today...

 


	4. Learning from Legendaries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MOAR ON THE LEGENDARY SITUATION

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SORRY
> 
> I BEEN BUSY
> 
> I WILL GET BACK TO POST I SWAER

“So, you’re who Professor Willow was talking about…” Raven smirked at them, taking a sip of her coffee. 

 

“Yeah. Spark, Cadella and myself, Blanche.” Blanche pointed to each person in turn. 

 

“So you three are the trainers here to create the teams… Hm…” She scrutinized the three sitting at her table, all of them shivering slightly under her intense, fierce stare. 

 

There was something… Wrong to her. Something, an echo of a long-forgotten predator, maybe. A call from the spirit of a ferocious, feral animal, perchance. A whisper of a demonic presence that made the light seem to shrink in her very presence. 

 

One way or another, Spark determined, there was something wrong about her. 

 

She turned around slightly to look at Wave, who was now in Pet form, a moderate sized form induced by a small collar around his neck. He explained to Spark that it was neither painful nor uncomfortable, just another thing he did around the house. He put it on of his own volition. Candella confirmed that when she explained how the Lugia had walked over and taken it from the sidelines himself, clipped it on, and activated it without ever needing to be asked. 

 

<Plus,> Wave had mentioned. <It sure is nicer than being stuck in a tiny capsule mechanism.> All three team leaders had visibly cringed. 

 

“Alright then, I guess the Prof wanted me to teach you something.” She shrugged, and Wave nodded. The trio had noticed, of all the legendaries in this place, most of whom were more than willing to converse and discuss anything and everything, Wave was often silent. He was a far more regal figure than a physical one, even in his miniature form, which, really, wasn't that small. He was about the weight and length of a large tiger. 

 

Raven got off the chair. “Well, to understand Pokemon, you really need to become one with them.” Spark snorted slightly. Raven smirked and pointed a finger at him. “Ah, but you don’t get it yet. Your Pokemon is still in her ball.” She gestured to Spark’s hip. “Why is that?” She turned around, assisting a newly evolved Pidgeotto to preen it’s brand-new, much longer feathers. Really, while she did that, she was also glancing pointedly behind her, without ever turning her head. It was an almost Umbreonic movement. 

 

“W-well…” He stuttered, suddenly being put in the spotlight of multiple large, fierce legendaries. “B-because it can be considered rude to have one’s Pokemon out of their ball in someone else's house.”

 

“Ah hah!” She laughed, turning around to point at him. The Pidgeotto let out a confused squawk as his feathers flipped out of her fingers and into disarray. She made a murmured set of whistles to him, almost apologetically. He snorted and continued to clean himself off. Then she turned back to Spark. “They are human rules of ettequite yes, but how do you think the Pokemon feels? Look around at the legendaries for a second.” She pointed to a few, in particular, Wave the Lugia, Flame the Ho-oh, Cuno the Articuno, and Verison. Blanche noticed that she called them ‘the’ legendaries, not ‘her’ legendaries.

 

Wave tilted his head to reveal the shimmery, charcoal-black collar wrapped around his neck, just below his chin. Flame brushed aside some feathers on his neck, showing the shiny rainbow ring that circled his throat. Cuno reached up with one wing to pull her huge, poufy chest puff out of the way to show off the midnight blue, rhinestone-studded collar. Verison just raised his right front hoof to emphasize a bright red, sparkly ring around his ankle, so bright it made Candella question how the hell she hadn’t noticed it before.

 

“You see, if they weren't wearing these, I couldn’t have them in the house. It would be very uncomfortable in here, probably destructive for some of the larger ones, like Wave and Flame.” She pointed to them. “Instead, I ask if they’d rather be put in a ball or wear one of these. Or just stay outside.” She shrugged. “But most of them like to stay with the others.” The Pidgeotto pecked her arm, and she made a little gesture of ‘hold up a second’ to them. To the people in the room, she signified to wait. The Pidgeotto tilted his head, twisting around to show off the neatly arranged feathers all over his body. She smiled, giving him a thumbs up and making many more chirps and clicks. Then Wave spoke up. 

 

<Raven, it’s-> He made a similar set of clicks, with one significant change. 

 

“Thanks Wave.” She repeated his sentence to the Pidgeotto, who made a set of chirps that sounded like laughter before flying off. Blanche considered this action. 

 

_ By pausing our conversation for that Pidgeotto… She put him first, like he was her child.  _ She realized.  _ Amazing. _

 

“Anyway,” Raven continued. “we humans only think about how we feel, about our ettequite. We don’t consider our Pokemon as other people. Even you three.” She pointed to them. “You might think that you consider your Pokemon in equal respect to your fellow persons, but you don’t. If you truly did, your Pokemon would’ve been out of their balls, consequences be damned.” Spark took that invitation first, pulling the red and white object off his waist and letting Static out of her ball. The Jolteon shook herself out, flaring her spikes in all directions before looking around. Spark paled slightly. He had accidentally let her out on the table. 

 

Raven laughed at his nervousness. “See, even that. You look a little uneasy that you let her out on my table.” She reached out her hand to Static before turning to Spark. “May I?” 

 

“I uhh… Guess, yeah sure.” 

 

“Thank you.” Raven replied, then held her fingertips toward the Jolteon. As Static started to sniff at them carefully, Raven talked to her in a sentence of pops and clicks, interspersed with mews. Static nodded to whatever she said, and Raven ran a hand down her back, admiring each spike of fur, each inch of the graceful Jolteon. “You have a very beautiful Jolteon.” She told Spark before she said another sentence to Static, who seemed to blush before repeating a rather curt click-mew. 

 

Candella and Blanche let out Firefly and Frost, who Raven also did a quick examination on, speaking briefly to both Pokemon in their own language, and commenting about them to their trainers. 

 

The three walked and sat near their trainers when Raven continued. “That’s a mistake most Pokemon Freedom Supporters make; You need to actually integrate yourself into their society. It takes a while, but you can do it. That’s one of the first steps to training legendaries;” Raven walked over to Wave, who stood up. She placed her hand on the top of his head and gently stroked down his neck. Anyone could’ve told that those two were unbelievably close. “Understanding. Now come on.” She smiled, walking off, leading them behind her. “We can do the tour.”

 

Raven’s entire house was a Pokemon haven. From the large cat trees for climbers or catlike Pokemon, to the massive tub in the upstairs bathroom for the water Pokemon, even the guest bedroom which had a self-cooling system and a chunk of never-melt ice that filled the room with snow and cold, the place wasn't designed for humans. 

 

In fact, of everything here, Raven was the thing that felt most out of place. 

 

Outside, it turned out the backyard was split into two pieces; the training area and the living space. In the living space, there was a huge, overgrown garden that grass and bug Pokemon dominated, a lazily flowing, ring-shaped river that circled the whole place, a sandy, beach-like region in the south-eastern corner, even a take-off/landing pad of mossy grass in the dead center for flight Pokemon. There was a large flap that looked almost like a cat-door made for a tiger in place of a window. When a Pidgeot dove out of the sky and flew through the flap, shooting into a rooftop room, they realized it was a way to get into the house proper. 

 

The basement was entirely cleared out, filled with small, slightly glowing spiritual plants or incense sticks in jars, the only source of light in the place. It was home to numerous Dark, Ghost and Psychic Pokemon, who were flitting around pleasantly in the darkened space. 

 

“I'm not saying that you have to do this to your own houses, but… It sure has helped me understand them.” She waved to all the Pokemon in the basement as they walked back up the stairs. “However, understanding Legendaries… That’s a whole different thing.” She walked through the thick door that kept out any light that might disturb the Pokemon in the dark. 

 

“While all Pokemon are intelligent, some are more than others. Enter Legendaries.” She smirked. “They are smarter than people. By a good bit.” 

 

Wave nuzzled against her leg, as they walked back to the outdoors. There was the smallest click of a lock disengaging, then suddenly, a swish of wind forced all of them except Raven to cover their eyes, as a shadow loomed overtop of them. 

 

All of the gym leaders had to stifle the feeling of being so completely tiny, of being at complete mercy to another. It was not a feeling any of them knew well. 

 

Wave looked down at them, his body an awful lot slimmer than a normal Lugia, but made entirely of muscle. 

 

Raven however, seemed magically immune to the fact that a minor god was gazing down at them, with an intensity that would’ve made a Serperior cringe. 

 

Wave’s blood-red eyes narrowed to slits, focusing on them with scrutiny that was formerly non-existent in the Alpha Pokémon.

 

“If you haven’t guessed yet, Wave is an Alpha.” She patted his leg, and he fluffed up his feathers briefly before lowering his head to be beside her. She patted his head calmly, seemingly indifferent to the fact that he could kill her. 

 

“Y-y-yeah…” Spark began. 

 

“What constitutes an Alpha, out of curiosity?” Blanche asked, looking for something different about the Lugia that was different from anything she had seen before. 

 

“Normally, attitude. Sometimes size and species has to do with it as well, which explains Wave’s lithe body and thick feathers.” She patted his leg again. “I didn't know his parentage at first, but as it turns out, he’s an Mountain Lugia. They tend to be same height and length, but different weights compared to their alternate area counterparts. For example, Wave is almost 150 pounds lighter than another Lugia of equal size.” All of Wave’s feathers suddenly fluffed up in a long, massive arch, showing the unnaturally dense, thin feathers. 

 

“So… I haven’t read much about legendary subspecies… but I know they exist. How many Lugia Subspecies are there and what are the differences between the species?” Blanche asked, curiosity eating her from the inside out.

 

“There are…” She thought about it for a second. “Natural, island, deep sea, tropical, arctic, mountain, fancy… So seven. Natural is just the casual one, island has bigger wings and is approximately half the size of a normal one, deep sea can’t fly and are partially blind, tropical has different coloration and is thicker, arctic has smaller wings and massively thick feathers, mountain has semi-thick feathers and is lighter to help get up cliffs, and fancy just has cool feathers.” She shrugged.

 

“So, do all legendaries have subspecies?” Spark thought about those types.

 

“Most do. I don’t think that Mewtwo or Mew do.” She patted Wave’s nose. “I’m never sure. I’ve dealt with a lot of legendaries in my time, and I doubt I know half of their secrets.”

 

“How long have you been training Wave?” Candella took a few steps forward, looking at Wave’s wings. 

 

“Almost 7 years now.” She stroked a hand down his head. “From level ten to level 100.”

 

“Level ten?” Blanche stammered, unsure of how old Wave really was. 

 

“He’s a rather young Lugia.” Raven filled in. “Only about… Hmm, how old would you be now?”

 

<Old enough to drive a car.> The white water-dwelling dragon’s eyes crinkled in amusement. 

 

“Yes. He turns 16 here soon.” Raven grinned, hugging him.

 

“Only 16?” Blanche gasped, jaw hanging open.

 

“Can I see the claws?” Candella reached forward and touched his wing, which half opened and the foot-long, pearly claws appeared from the fingers. 

 

Wave suddenly fully opened his wings, beating them powerfully, kicking up gale-force winds within seconds. The waves and eddies created by his whipping feathers buffeted against their bodies, forcing them all to cringe slightly away from the direction he forced the wind. 

 

“Good grief…” Blanche murmured, straightening once Wave stopped flapping. 

 

The Lugia gave a small snort of laughter. 

 

“So, yeah.” Raven shrugged, hanging Wave’s collar on a set of hooks by the side of the house. Taking that as an invitation, Wave kicked off the ground a few times, wings pumping to escape gravity as he twisted and streaked into the sky. “...That’s pretty much all you have to know. Subspecies are easy, and… Legendaries… well…” She laughed fairly, staring at the white bulk of his thin shape vanishing above the clouds. “...You just need to understand them.”

 

*#~~~#*

 

When Spark, Blanche and Candella left, it was evening. 

 

Many of the pokemon, any that could fly, had vanished into the sky, dissapearing with speed and power unlike any that the team leaders had seen. They were swift and graceful, just like wild pokemon. 

 

Yet, all of them were tame. 

 

Candella still had to look back at the trio of bird pokemon that swirled together, laughing and playing. 

 

“...They really are beautiful, aren’t they?”

  
  
  



End file.
